


at the end of the day (my heart belongs to you)

by anemicfurby



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21831232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anemicfurby/pseuds/anemicfurby
Summary: quentin thinks over his relationship with penny and eliot, and has to struggle with the news of his father's illness.
Relationships: Quentin Coldwater & Julia Wicker, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh, William "Penny" Adiyodi/Eliot Waugh, William "Penny" Adiyodi/Quentin Coldwater, William "Penny" Adiyodi/Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Comments: 5
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

Quentin has always had an awkward relationship with affection. With his parents, he hardly got any. Not his dad's fault, he couldn't help not being a hugger. His mom, well - she seemed to not want to touch Quentin much at all. He'd had Julia as a friend most of his life, and she'd probably been the reason he hadn't starved from lack of physical affection. It hadn't helped that when they'd gotten to college that Quentin had feelings for Julia, and touches then became a little more scarce. Over time, Quentin eventually overcame his awkwardness and his crush, and he got his childhood best friend back. 

And then he'd gotten into Brakebills. He met Eliot, who was very handsy in a nice and PG13 way. Then there was Penny, his roommate, who liked to tease him and sometimes shove him into walls or trees when his wards would slip. And honestly, he enjoyed the attention from both men. He had had barely any romantic or sexual relationships with - well, anyone , so he was nervous about his growing feelings for the two men. They both seemed so untouchable, but they still opened themselves to Quentin. 

Then the night of passion happened, as Eliot so fondly likes to call it - 

_"Why the fuck would we call the night we first got together the 'Night of Passion? It's so fuckin' cliche." _

_"You simply don't see the beauty in the classics, William."_

_"God, I wish I'd never told either of you my first name."_

It was funny. Quentin hadn't expected either of them to reciprocate his feelings. It was a very pleasent surprise when both Penny and Eliot had come onto him at the Cottage party, and before long all three of them had tumbled upstairs into Eliot's bed, room warded and locked shut to keep the outside world out. Quentin still thinks fondly of that night, and how it lead to what he has now. 

Eliot and Penny, both men draped across Quentin at the latest Cottage party. 

Penny and Eliot, surprising Quentin after class with lunch in the city. 

Eliot, whose wit and humor always manage to make Quentin smile, even when he's feeling low. 

Penny, with his hard demeanor, hiding what is actually a huge softie of a man.

Its only a month into their relationship when things hit a little snag. It's Mentor week, and Eliot and Penny are plying Quentin with wine while Margo and Julia talk rather aggressively about the Welters tournament coming up. The stress of finding a mentor was a little heavy on Quentin, but right now, where he lay curled between his two boyfriends, he felt like he could face anything. 

Later, Quentin would regret having that thought. 

Alice comes by, with a note for Quentin from the office. She looks nervous; their friendship has been a little rocky since the whole Niffin-Charlie-tried-to-kill-them incident, but they're trying to make things better. 

She hands the note to Quentin, and when he opens it, he feels his heart shatter. 

"Q?" Eliot gently nudges Quentin, whose been staring horrified at the note for a few seconds too long. 

"My dad's sick," He finally chokes out, looking up and meeting Julia wide-eyed gaze. Fuck. 

Penny sits up, arms wrapping around him, and Quentin is tugged into a gentle hug. 

"I'm so sorry, baby," Penny whispers, and Quentin can't hold back the tears now. He sobs into Penny's chest, shoulders shaking, and Eliot leans over to hug Quentin from behind, rubbing his spine reassuringly. 

Later, when Quentin had gotten it together somewhat, he untangles himself from Penny and Eliot, and asks Julia if she could come with him to visit his dad.

His boyfriends both look a little hurt that he wouldn't bring them, but they don't say anything. 

Quentin does mention Eliot or Penny during his visit, and he'smeant with joyous positivity. The mood, however, is crushed when he learns his dad won't be seeking treatment. When he gets back to Brakebills, he can't bear to face his boyfriends, so he ends up camping out in Julia's room, practically nesting in her bed. She talks about literally anything else, and he's thankful she knows him well enough to help him get his mind off this boulder on his back. With anyone else, mainly Eliot and Penny, they would try and force him to talk about it, which would make him curl more into himself until he's repressed all his emotions and goes into a dangerously depressive state. With Julia, who knows how he deals with grief and feelings, he feels safer. 

When he finally makes it back to the cottage the next day, he almost immediately runs into Eliot. He looks... ragged, and his eyes are dark from lack of sleep. 

"Where were you? You said you'd come back after you finished visiting your dad," Eliot says, his tone concerned. Quentin fes his heart sink in his chest. 

"Sorry," Quentin mumbles, eyes flickering around, and out of the corner of his eye he sees Penny walking over to them. 

"Q, hey," Penny mumbles, still sleepy, and he wraps his arms around Quentin. "You didn't come back last night."

Fuck. Its practically impossible to resist Eliot and Penny, especially when they're being so fucking - nice to him. 

"I - " Quentin sighed, breath shuddering a bit. "I just needed some space. Not - not from you guys," Penny and Eliot frown at him, and exchange a look. "Just from - all the social shit. My dad, he - he's not seeking treatment, and he -" Quentin feels himself choking up, but he wills himself forward. "It was just a lot, and I didn't want to worry you guys, so I stayed with Julia so I could - just. Take a breather." Quentin stutters out the last few words, burying his face into Eliot's robed chest. Penny gently rubs his lower back, looking at him in an unbelievably soft and understanding way. Eliot looks a little - well, Quentin isn't sure how to describe it, but he looks sympathetic. 

"Lets go to bed," Penny says, definately using his psychic powers to read Quentin's mind. He nods, kissing Eliot's chest softly, before he grabs both their hands and starts tugging them upstairs. 

Now, while the three of them do tend to have sex when they go up to bed so early, but Quentin doesn't know if he has it in him. Even though it would be a viable distraction, the news of his father's cancee had drained him. He let himself be manhandled into bed by Penny and Eliot, and buried his face in Penny's chest as the two tall men draped over him, giving him small kisses along his face and neck. Quentin mumbled something about 'sleep', and before he knew it, he was drifting off. 

The next morning, Quentin woke to a muffled conversation at the end of the bed. He frowned slightly, and shuffled, but it stopped when he moved. He swallowed, before falling still once again. The conversation continued. 

"And did you know that Fogg tried to take Quentin's meds from him?" That was Eliot. "What the fuck do you think would have happened if he hadn't kept them?" 

"I dont know, El." Penny. They were talking about... him? "I just - after seeing him so distraught these last two days, I wanna do whatever I can to help him. We shouldn't be thinking about the 'what ifs'. He has his meds. He's taking them regularly. He's got us, and he knows if he needs to he can talk to us." 

"Well, of course. I know he trusts us, but... I've never seen him this bad. I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose him, Pen." 

"I know. I dont want to either." 

Quentin feels his heart swell with love. Fuck. He loved these idiots. He loved them so much, and he didn't care if they fussed over him, because he loved them. 

He waited a few more seconds, before he let out a small sigh, and started reaching into the empty space beside him. He made a small noise of want, and soon, Eliot swept in, crawling back into bed. 

"Hey, baby," Eliot murmured, kissing him softly, his gaze fond. "How did you sleep?" 

From behind, Quentin could feel Penny shuffling back into bed as well, curling an arm around his shoulder and gently pulling him into his large arms. Quentin melted into him, pulling Eliot along with him. 

"I slept ok. No dreams. Guess the last few days exhausted me," He murmured softly, blinking his eyes open, turning over so he could look at both Penny and Eliot. 

"Do you guys wanna meet my dad?" He blurts it out before he can stop himself, and the surprise in Penny and El's faces make him backtrack. "You guys don't have to, I just - I think he'd like to know I have people looking out for me here, taking care of me. Other than - than Julia of course, and I just -" He cut off, letting out a small, frustrated huff. "Can you guys work with me here, please?" 

Eliot smiled warmly at him, leaning down and kissing him sloppily on the corner of his mouth. "I'd love to meet you dad, baby. Does he know you're bi? And does he also know youre... dating two men?" 

Quentin nods, nuzzling into Penny's shoulder. "He known I was bi for a while, I think since high school. I - um... I told him about you two. He was surprised, but he'd love to meet you both. Maybe have dinner, or something.." Quentin swallowed, feeling his leg twitch with nerves. He looks over at Penny, who has been silent this whole time. 

He looks - surprised, to say the least, but after a momemt he gathers himself and gives Quentin and peck on the cheek. "I'll tag along, if you want me too." 

Quentin smiles, eyes shining happily. He pulls Eliot down to him, and their laughter dissolves into kisses and touches. 

Quentin can't wait for these men to meet his father. It feels - solidifying. Like maybe theyre really serious. Quentin mulls it over in the aftermath, sprawled over Penny and Eliot's chests, hands entwined. He just wanted his dad to see - he's in good hands. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> quentin takes penny and eliot to visit ted. feelings ensue.
> 
> or: author is an absolute emotional mess and has no idea what he's doing but he tried, ok

Quentin was nervous. He thought that like it wasnt a common occurrence for him, but really he was more nervous than usual. He'd never introduced anyone to his father, not as more than a friend. It was almost baffling that he was going to be introducing two people, both his boyfriends, to his father. 

While he was dying. Of cancer. 

Fuck. 

Quentin was nervous, not only because he was introducing his boyfriends to his father, but because he didn't know how to handle it all. His dad was just - giving up. Not even trying to fight the illness. It made him sad and angry and - depressed. 

At one point, Quentin had never thought he'd make it past 20. Now, he had a solid reason to live, and something to do with himself. He wanted his dad to see that. 

So he formed a plan. 

He was going to tell his dad about magic, and try and convince him to seek treatment. If not for himself, then for his son, who finally had a foreseeable future. 

And if that wasn't worth living for, then what was? 

Eliot and Penny noticed Quentin's mood, because of course they did, but they seemed to get that it was better to distract him then bug him about it for once. Eliot fussed over his wardrobe choice, insisting he wears only the most perfect outfit he could for "Senior Coldwater". Penny complained about having to go out into the muggle world, where people didn't have wards and it would be louder than usual. Quentin enjoyed the distraction, and settled into his boyfriends' banner as they prepared themselves for meeting Quentin's father.

The night before, Eliot bullied both Quentin and Penny into laying out an outfit so they would be ready to go the next day. The three of them tried to coordinate, and with Eliot's determined state both Quentin and Penny were forced to give in and let Eliot pick their clothes. He was the more fashionable one out of the three, so it was probably better he than Penny or Q. 

Meanwhile, Quentin went over his Transfiguration homework while Penny loomed over him, head on his shoulder, checking his work over while he went. It was nice. Domestic, almost. If Quentin didn't have his wards up, Penny would have endlessly teased him for having such a thought, but he really was grateful for these two men. He couldn't wait for them to meet his father. 

The night before said meeting, Quentin lay in bed between Penny and Eliot, who were both dramatically draped across Quentin, their faces buried in his neck. Eliot would never admit it, but he did snore in his sleep. Penny would sometimes travel randomly in the middle of the night, but he's gotten a better hold of his traveling lately, thanks to the help of a third year, who also happened to be a traveler, named Victoria. 

Quentin had never in his life been so in love. 

"Hey, baby," Penny mutters, face nudged up against his jaw. Quentin blinks, and glances over at Penny, smiles softly. 

"Mmh?" 

"Your wards are slipping a bit." 

"Ok, Pen," Quentin murmurs, and goes through the tuts quickly.

He doesn't think much of it at first, as he settles back into bed, but he does remember it when they're going through their morning routine, and looks at Penny with a startled expression. Penny just laughs and kisses him sweetly, nudging him into the bathroom as Eliot bossily tells them to shower up and get dressed soon. 

-

They all agree to portal close enough to Ted's house that they can make it look as if they drove over themselves. Eliot "borrows" a passing car, and he sets to driving them to Ted's house. Hopefully, if Quentin's plan goes well, they won't have to take the car back to the city, and they can instead portal back to Brakebills. 

While they drive, Quentin feels his nerves light up. His leg begins to bounce, sharp, quick movements that are hard to hold back. Penny notices from where he sits next to him, and frowns over at Q. 

A hand winds around his wrist, before tangling their fingers together. Quentin looks up, smiles softly at Penny and leaning in to kiss him softly. 

"You two saps," Eliot laughs from the front, meeting Quentin's gaze through the mirror. "We're here." 

Quentin swallows, his nerves alight as he clambered out of the car, Eliot and Penny hot on his heels. Here they were. No stopping it now. Quentin walks towards the front door, and knocks before he can talk himself out of it. 

There's a short wait, and then Ted Coldwater opens the door. He beams at Quentin, his expression warm if a little tired. 

"Curly-Q," His father says fondly, and he pulls Quentin into a hug. He hears a snicker behind him, and he feels his cheeks flush as Penny mutters "Curly-Q" from behind him. He gently pulls himself out of his father's embrace. The moment of truth. 

"Dad, this is Penny and Eliot. Pen, El, this is - my dad, Ted Coldwater." Quentin says, voice only cracking a little bit. Ted looks over Quentin's shoulder at Eliot and Penny, who are dressed in their best. Eliot, ever the dramatic, does a quick bow and grins brightly at the father.

"Mr. Coldwater, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I can promise that Penny and I have been nothing but the best partners our _ Curly-Q _ could have," The second-year purrs out, ever the figure of grace and perfection. Ted laughs, his eyes lighting up in a way that was very familiar to Eliot and Penny, and they exchanged a fond look. 

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you two. Last I saw Q, I could tell he was a lot happier. Now I’m glad to know why that is,” Ted replies, and Quentin can't help the way his heart swoons at how Eliot and Penny immediately brighten at this.

“He means the world to us. We want nothing but to make him happy,” Penny speaks up, a rare smile on his face. 

“That’s a lie, you both live to make my life miserable with how sappy you are,” Quentin mumbles, and they all laugh fondly. Ted finally opens the door wide enough so they can all come in, and they settle on the couch to chat and watch what looks to be football. Quentin isn’t really paying attention, seeing as he is squished between his two boyfriends, who are practically begging Ted for baby photos of Q.

“I’ve got plenty of baby photos, but you won’t be very lucky once you reach elementary school. He would avoid cameras like the plague,” Ted laughs, and Eliot sighs fondly, ruffling Q’s hair before putting his hand back around his neck. 

“Sounds like our Q,” Penny mutters, but he perks up when Ted comes back with photos. Eliot and Penny spend an embarrassing amount of time crooning over baby Q, and then toddler Q, and then kid Q, and then -

“Oh my Gods, is that a fringe, Coldwater?” Penny laughs, eyes alight with enjoyment. Quentin groans, scrambling up from the couch where he’d been moping and snatched the photo of his 7th grade emo phase.

“We don’t speak of that,” Quentin growls, sending both his boyfriends deathly looks. Eliot blows kisses at him, and Penny winks. He hates them both with all his being.

They breeze through middle school, the photos tapering off through high school, and as they reach college, there’s only the occasional holiday photo. Eliot and Penny whines when there aren’t any photos left because they’re horrible, and conversation trails off to Q’s younger years.

“He was always nose-deep in those Fillory books, I don’t think I saw him without them his entire time in middle school!”

“He’s still obsessed with them. He’s such a nerd.”

“Hey!”

“And we love your nerdiness. You’re  _ our  _ nerd.”

They talked for a while with Ted, Eliot and Penny getting as many childhood stories out of Q’s father as they could with the time they had. It lasted a while, and as the visit went on, Q found himself more relaxed than he had been in a long time. He was sunk into Eliot’s side, his legs flung over Penny’s lap while the two men listened eagerly to the stories. 

“So, this school of yours,” Immediately, all three men tensed up a bit. “What are you all majoring in?” 

“I’m a drama kid, Penny’s in psychology, and Q’s an English major.” Eliot replied smoothly, and Penny nodded along. Quentin felt his stomach sink a bit; he didn’t want to lie to his father about this. He sat up, and Eliot let out a soft whine of protest.

“Dad? Do you still have that airplane I broke and you never got to fixing?” Ted looked puzzled, but he nodded and stood up to go get it. Eliot and Penny exchanged a look, looking equally confused. 

They all went to settle at the dinner table, and Quentin took a deep breath before going through the tuts.

“Q, what the hell-” Penny hissed, making him falter. 

He turned to his boyfriend, brows furrowed.

“Trust me, Pen,” Quentin murmured, and Penny stepped back frowning, and pulling Elot back as well. 

Quentin took a deep breath, going through the tuts, and he opened his eyes to find the fixed plane in his hands, his father looking at it in awe. 

“How -”

“We’re  _ magicians _ , dad,” Quentin murmured, sitting up, looking at him. “We go to a magic school called Brakebills. Penny’s a  _ psychic _ . Eliot’s  _ telekinetic _ . I can - fix things.” Quentin clenched his jaw, setting the plane down and watching his dad gape at it. “I knew I couldn't lie to you about this. It’s just-” He took a shuddering breath, clenching his jaw as his father looked up at him with wide eyes. 

“Oh,” Ted said, his voice soft. He looked back at Eliot and Penny, who came behind Quentin to clasp his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Quentin said, smiling softly.

  
  


-

  
  


Now that Ted knew they were magicians, they were able to portal home rather than ‘borrow’ another car. Quentin hugged his dad goodbye, sniffling into his shoulder. 

“We’ll come visit whenever we can,” He promises Ted, who smiles at his son warmly. 

“That sounds wonderful. Bring your boys again, whenever you do. And Julia. Is she -?”

“Yeah, she’s at Brakebills too. Her discipline is just - Knowledge, apparently,” Quentin laughs, and so does Ted, and they hug once more. 

Eliot finishes the portal, and he and Penny come to say goodbye to Ted.

“It was wonderful meeting you, Ted,” Eliot says, painfully honest, shaking Ted’s hand. The senior grins, pulls Eliot into a hug, and pats his back.

“Good to meet you too, son. Make sure Curly-Q stays out of too much trouble.” Ted says, patting Eliot’s back. Penny looked a little nervous, but Q pulled him in, and they all folded into a big group hug. 

“It’s good to know my son has people who care about him,” Ted says, voice serious when he pulls Penny and Eliot aside. “Take care of him. He sometimes can’t do it himself.”

Penny and Eliot exchange a look, and nod.

“We plan on it.”

  
  


-

  
  


When they get back to Brakebills, Quentin immediately collapses on the PKC couch, face down. Penny maneuvers him so Q’s at least laying in his lap, while Eliot goes to make them all drinks. 

“So,” Penny says, running his fingers through Quentin’s hair. “When can we go see him again?”

Quentin smiles into Penny’s thigh, sitting up and kissing him. Eliot sits down with them, drinks in hand. Quentin smiles at them, these wonderful men who he would do anything for. 

“I love you two,” Quentin says, and means it, as he leans in to kiss his boyfriends. Penny grins, and Eliot tries not to act flustered, and they settle in for a pleasant night. 

They’ll be ok. They have each other.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed this!!! this kind of went everywhere, at first i was gonna talk about quentin's touch-starvedness, but then it lead to this!! next chapter will be dinner at mr coldwater's house uwu
> 
> comments and kudos are much appreciated!!!!


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